Family Rights Group | Parents’ Forum

Me and my husband separated last December he moved away he was back in town end of June and stayed on the sofa to spend time with the kids, there was an argument he locked me out and I contacted the police and he was arrested social workers tried to put my children on child protection and failed but did ask me to work with them for 12 weeks a visit once a month I said no problem now there is a case meeting on the 25th November to see about closing the case, I have had zero contact with my husband and there was never any issues with me as a parent, if they don't close the case can I reduse to do any more work with them I just want to get on with my life and actually don't need their services.

Hi Rhodoes,

Thank you for sharing this. First, please know, you have done nothing wrong. You have cooperated, you have protected your children, and the only reason social services were involved was due to the incident involving your husband. That risk factor is now removed, and you have had zero contact with him. Which means there is no ongoing safeguarding concern based on your care or parenting.

Where You Legally Stand

They attempted to place your children on a Child Protection Plan, and failed. That is very significant. It means they did not find sufficient evidence of “significant harm.”

The current plan is a Section 17 (Child in Need) arrangement. This is voluntary. It only exists with your agreement and can be ended when the original concerns are addressed, which they now are.

You are not under investigation, your parenting is not in question, and you have complied with everything asked of you. You are in the strongest position a parent can be in.

Do You Have to Continue If They Don’t Close the Case?

No, not unless they can provide new, evidence-based reasons to justify it.
You are not “refusing help.” You would simply be concluding a voluntary plan that has served its purpose.

This distinction is very important. You don’t say, “I won’t engage.”
You say, “There is no longer a need for engagement.”
You are closing the plan because you have successfully met its objective.

What to Say in the 25 November Meeting:

Stay calm, factual, and confident. You might say:

“I agreed to this plan for 12 weeks and I’ve fully engaged. The original concern related to my husband, who has not had any contact with me or the children for months. There have been no other concerns raised about my parenting. Therefore, the work is complete and there is no legal or safeguarding basis to continue this involvement. I expect the case to now be closed.”

If they try to continue involvement, ask this one question in writing:

“Please provide the specific evidence of current risk that justifies extending a voluntary Section 17 plan. If no such evidence exists, I expect confirmation that the case is now concluded.”

They will struggle to answer, because they do not have that evidence. ou are absolutely entitled to move forward with your life in peace.
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For full transparency, I am not an official adviser for this forum. I am a parent who has been through a long and successful legal battle with a local authority, and I am here to offer supportive, strategic advice based on my own lived experience. The information I share is for guidance, and it is always up to each parent to decide what is right for their own situation.

Thank you very much, I have 6 children doing it on my own as well as looking after my father after a recent heart attack all my children's needs and more is being met I just find it ridiculous they want to deal with me when there is so many children that need the support, and the argument between me and my husband was only an argument and he locked me out bo physical violence nothing harmful towards the children, it took near 2 months for them to set the child protection meeting then I have been the one arranging visits with social worker because she hasn't bothered

You are absolutely right to feel frustrated , and you’re not overreacting. In fact, everything you’ve said only strengthens your position even further.

You are a single mother of six, managing all your children’s needs and caring for your father after a heart attack. Your home is stable, your children are safe, and even their own actions have shown there is no current risk:

There was no violence, no harm to the children, and no ongoing involvement with your husband.

The delay in arranging meetings (taking two months to even attempt a child protection conference) is a clear sign that this was not treated as a high-risk case, because it wasn’t one.

You have been the proactive one arranging visits with the social worker, which shows engagement and cooperation.

They have failed to offer meaningful support, despite claiming the case was about “support.”

What This Means Legally and Practically is This is not a Child Protection case. It is a voluntary Section 17 (Child in Need) plan, and it cannot be forced on you unless they can show new evidence of harm, which they do not have.

The fact that you are chasing them is evidence that this involvement is unnecessary and burdensome. Your energy is needed for your real responsibilities, your children and your father, not unnecessary monitoring from social services.

What You Can Say in the Meeting

You have every right to say, calmly and clearly:

“I agreed to this plan to cooperate and show transparency. There have been no concerns about my parenting, and there is no ongoing risk. I have been the one arranging contact, while social services have not followed through. As the purpose of this voluntary plan has now been met, this case should be closed.”

Then ask:

“Can you identify any current evidence of harm or unmet need that legally justifies continuing this involvement?”

If they cannot answer this, then there is no legal basis to continue.

You Are in Control Now, You are not refusing help , you are confirming that the work is already done. You are well within your rights to expect closure.
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For full transparency, I am not an official adviser for this forum. I am a parent who has been through a long and successful legal battle with a local authority, and I am here to offer supportive, strategic advice based on my own lived experience. The information I share is for guidance, and it is always up to each parent to decide what is right for their own situation.

Thank you so much

Dear Rhodoes

Thank you for your posts and welcome to the forum. I am a Family Rights Adviser and will responding to your two posts here. I am sorry to hear of your situation and hope the information provided it helpful to you today.

You have six children and caring duties for your father who had a recent heart attack. Children’s services became involved following a domestic abuse incident at your home. Your husband, whom you are separated from, was staying at your home to spend time with your children, there was an argument between you which resulted in your husband locking you out of your home. I am sorry to hear you experienced this. It must have been a worrying and stressful time for you. I have added HERE a link to a domestic abuse charity that you may wish to contact for further support. I have further added HERE a link to the Freedom Project which you can access online.

You acted to protect yourself and your children by calling the police. Following this, as is police protocol, they made a referral to children’s services. Concern that a child is experiencing or witnessing domestic abuse is a very common reason why children’s services become involved with families. Research shows that children can suffer long-term. The legal definition of significant harm specifically includes a child hearing or seeing someone else being harmed (see section 31(9) of the Children Act 1989).

It is important that parents and carers understand what is meant by domestic abuse. And that they understand the ways in which children’s services might become involved. This is because the procedures that should be followed by children’s services will depend on whether children’s services think a child needs extra help and support or a child may be at risk of significant harm (child protection involvement).Please see HERE for further information and advice regarding this.

You say children’s services tried to place your children on a child protection plan, I will therefore assume there was an initial child protection conference and that at the conference professionals agreed a child in need plan was better placed to support you and your children, and you agreed to this. I have added HERE
further information and guidance regarding this type of plan. It sets out law and regulations governing this and how children’s services should be working with you.

I am sorry to hear you feel frustrated by the lack of support provided. You are seeking advice on whether you can refuse to work with children’s services post 25th November when you have a meeting to discuss whether they will close your case.

As stated by Winter25, a child in need plan is voluntary, not mandatory, therefore you have the right to withdraw your consent to continue with the plan. Please see the link above for further information and guidance regarding this.

I would advise you to attend the meeting prepared with bullet points you wish to raise for discussion. To highlight the proactive approach you have taken whilst your children have been subject to the child in need plan, for example, your role in arranging meetings with the social worker because of their lack of communications, any courses or support you have sought since the incident occurred and any further support (if any) you feel you or your children need (this could be via Early Help). If you do not wish to continue with the plan and children’s services do, it would be a good idea to ask them what next steps they may take if you withdraw your consent. By taking this approach, you will be better placed to make an informed decision. To note, should children’s services escalate they will need grounds to do so, and threshold would need to be met. Please see HERE for further information and guidance regarding this.

When children’s services become involved, the focus of concern and expectation for change is often placed on the primary carer for obvious reasons. However, when the primary care giver has experienced domestic abuse (whether perceived as ‘low’ or ‘high’ ) these expectations can feel like another burden and blame to carry whilst there is little or no expectation for the perpetrator of the abuse to make changes and seek support. This can often be the case when the victim has given an undertaking to cease contact with that person.

If children’s services have not done so already, they should be discussing their concerns with your husband, to encourage him to take responsibility for his actions and to seek support to appropriate services. I have added a link HERE to an organisation called RESPECT. The provide support for perpetrators of domestic abuse.

Whilst you are caring for your six children, you are also caring for your father who recently had a heart attack. I do not know the extent of the care you provide to your father but will assume it is placing further demands on your time. At Family Rights Group we are not experts in adult social services and do not provide specific advice, however, you may wish to consider reaching out to adult services for further support for your father and for support for yourself as a carer. Further, I have added HERE
a link to Carers UK which you may find helpful.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you would like to talk to an adviser at Family Rights Group about your situation, please call the freephone advice line on 0808 801 0366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm. If you prefer, you can post back, use our advice enquiry form or webchat. Please refer to our website for further information.

Best wishes, Suzie

Thank you for your reply, he had actually left the country for work and when this happened it was his first time back hence why he stayed in my home and has since left again and I have not or spoke to him he has no idea social workers or involved, as for my father's care it is general cleaning cooking and taking him for his shopping so nothing too major, my 2 oldest age 13 and 15 attended the child protection meeting I was forced into the 12 weeks being told it will back to child protection and they would go on the register I don't understand how when at the meeting they could find no reason for it in the first place, my home is clean children cared for fed clean and warm and we have a great open relationship where they can come and speak to me about anything and they do all medical needs are met 5 attend school where I have nothing but good reports about them, they are simply wasted my time their time and resources that could be used elsewhere

Dear Rhodoes

Thank you for your further post.

It is clear from your post that you feel frustrated by children’s services continued involvement with your family.

At the initial child protection conference, the outcome was that your children should be placed on a child in need plan and not child protection. A child in need plan, as you know is voluntary, but you agreed to this for a period of 12 weeks. This period corresponds to the 3-month review conference that would have taken place had the children been on a child protection plan.

Sometimes, children’s services want to continue monitoring a situation where a child protection plan was not made, and a child in need plan helps rather than an immediate closure of case. In this way, if a further incident were to occur then the case could be escalated to child protection.

In your case nothing has happened, you are separated from your husband, so the incident was, you say a one off. Children’s services have been working with you so it is likely that the case will be closed if there are no ongoing concerns for them.

You may find it useful to read the government guidance on information sharing between professionals HERE

I hope you find this information useful, and I believe that your case is likely to be closed at the upcoming meeting later this month. If not, you would be within our right to say you no longer agree to the child in need plan. You do not mention what support is being offered but if you can replicate that support yourself there would be no need for children’s services to be concerned the children’s needs would not be met without the plan.

Should you wish to speak with an adviser about your situation, you can contact our advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays).

Hope this helps.

Best wishes

Suzie

Thank you for your reply, they have offered no support groups nothing of the such they come out ask how we are getting on and leave again, only thing was offered was a play group place for my 2 year old which I refused as I am more than happy with her at home then will start nursery next year other than that it has been a waste of time and upset to my children as they don't want to have social workers